Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Violeta Paginu, Environmental Researcher Institute of Ecology and Geography Republic of Moldova

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Country Outline Area: 33,483.4 km2 Terrain: rolling steppe lowest elevation: 2 m highest elevation: 439 m Climate: temperate continental mean temperature: 9.3 oC (north) - 10.1oC (south) mean precipitations: 617 mm (north) - 546 mm (south) Population: 4,455421 urban: 45.3%; rural: 54.7% growth rate: 0.22%; fertility rate: 1.81 children/women density: 126 people/km2 GDP per capita: $1,900 (purchasing power parity) Capital: Chisinau (population - 700,000)

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Institutional Frame Government: approval of policy documents and legal framework on waste management Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources: central authority for waste management Ministry of Health: sanitary-epidemiological supervision of waste management Local Public Authorities (ex., municipality): coordination of activities on waste management at local level

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Legal Frame The legal framework on the waste management: The law on environmental protection (Nr.1515-XII, May 16, 1993); The law on secondary material resources (Nr.787-XIII, March 26, 1996); The law on industrial and household wastes (Nr.1347-XIII, October 9, 1997); The law on the regime of toxic substances and products (Nr.1236-XIII, July 3, 1997); The law on payments for pollution of the environment (Nr.1540-XIII, February 1998);

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Waste Management Programs and Projects in Moldova The National Program for Management of Production and Household Wastes was approved by the Government of the Republic of Moldova in 2000 In 2003, the Government approved the Regulation on control of transboundary movements and disposal of wastes, establishing concrete procedures for implementation of the Basel Convention (1989)

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Present Situation The present Ministry of Information Development and Environmental Legal Frame does not include a low on WEEE There are no regulations on WEEE collection and recycling system There is no information on the amount of WEEE There is a risk of EEE which does not correspond to EU environmental legal frame import

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Present Situation There is no landfill for toxic wastes in Moldova (thus, much of the toxic waste is illegally transported to household waste landfill or stored at industrial sites) At the beginning of 2005 there were about 650,000 of luminescent tubes in stock There is a large chain of electrical/household appliances store departments and PC companies importers in Republic of Moldova Small and medium-sized enterprises

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Actions to be taken Elaboration of the legal frame work and the relevant secondary legal acts Definition of the authority responsible for WEEE Establishment of the principle Producer Responsibility (PR), including list of products and goods covered by the PR Introduction of the green fee for the WEEE recovery Creation and authorisation of WEEE recovery facilities Creation of the WEEE collection points

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Actions to be taken Registration of the EEE producers and the procedure of products marking Establishment of the Statistical Forms for the Producers Reporting Banning the commercialisation of the products that are not environmental friendly Public awareness regarding to the functioning of the WEEE collection system

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Public Awareness There are a series of state and private universities with curricula focusing on ecology and environment that prepare specialists in environmental sciences and ecology. There are no special state programs for waste management staff nurturing. Many NGOs implement projects on public awareness regarding environmental issues. This may include: publishing of books, magazines, peppers about environmental protection; involvement of student in activities for cleaning of residential areas from illegal dumps; planting of trees, etc. There are no comprehensive state programs for public awareness on waste reduction, such as recycling, reuse and recovery of wastes.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment References Waste Management: Gh. Duca, T. Tugui; A.S.M. Regional Environmental Centre-Moldova.-Ch.:Tipogor.A.S.M.2006.-248p. Republic of Moldova: State of the Environmental Report 2005:/ Inst. of Ecol. and Geography.-Ch.: Inst. of Ecol. and Geography, 2006.-81p. http:// www.gov.md http://www.mmediu.ro/dep_mediu/informatii_echipamente.htm http:// www.europa.eu.int